We drove this road in 1976 (I think) but it wasn't nearly this exciting. Be sure to turn on the sound--It's almost like a Cheech and Chong dialogue...
William deBuys Author, A Great Aridness: Climate Change and the Future of the Southwest, The Age of Thirst in the American WestI reply:
Consider it a taste of the future: the fire, smoke, drought, dust, and heat that have made life unpleasant, if not dangerous, from Louisiana to Los Angeles. New records tell the tale: biggest wildfire ever recorded in Arizona (538,049 acres), biggest fire ever in New Mexico (156,600 acres), all-time worst fire year in Texas history (3,697,000 acres).
The fires were a function of drought. As of summer’s end, 2011 was the driest year in 117 years of record keeping for New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana, and the second driest for Oklahoma. Those fires also resulted from record heat. It was the hottest summer ever recorded for New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, as well as the hottest August ever for those states, plus Arizona and Colorado.
Virtually every city in the region experienced unprecedented temperatures, with Phoenix, as usual, leading the march toward unlivability. This past summer, the so-called Valley of the Sun set a new record of 33 days when the mercury reached a shoe-melting 110ยบ F or higher. (The previous record of 32 days was set in 2007.)
And here’s the bad news in a nutshell: if you live in the Southwest or just about anywhere in the American West, you or your children and grandchildren could soon enough be facing the Age of Thirst, which may also prove to be the greatest water crisis in the history of civilization. No kidding.
Hi Bruce:
Preaching to the converted here. I definitely think water is a big, big problem.
That said, I think the interim solutions are actually pretty darn simple, and lack of will and a lack of infrastructure is the only reason we don’t proceed. In other parts of the world subject to these problems, they collect rain water.
Australia is a First World kind of country, but it is expected that every residence collects their own rain water. There are exceptions – recently-built residences in urban areas lack them – but every ding dang place in the interior has them. They have to. Interior Queensland, for example doesn’t have much in the way of ground water resources. So they can’t do what people in NM do, and dig a well. The droughts in Australia are so extreme that any ground water they have would be exhausted. NM is more fortunate. But we will get there eventually. And then we will do what they have always done. They have the infrastructure. We have it for livestock, but not people.
Some laws might have to change. In Colorado, it’s technically illegal to collect rainwater. Interferes with watershed drainage, they say.
In Mexico, they have water pressure problems, so they have nifty water pressure units on apartment buildings that could well double as water heaters. If water was a problem it probably wouldn’t be hard to add rainwater tanks too. They have the infrastructure. Do we have a market? Maybe someday!
Regarding NM’s current extreme drought, it’s definitely the worst in my lifetime, but it’s probably no worse than the drought just before I was born, in the early 50’s, and not as bad as the 30’s. The difference now is that ABQ has many, many more people.
What’s worrisome, of course, is that the archaeologists see records of droughts in the 1200’s and 1300’s that were definitely worse than the 1930’s one – much worse. So, the climate hasn’t shown its full range of potential in modern civilization’s run. Mother Nature can surprise. Climatologists are still wonderstruck at the current drought in SW Australia that stuck around despite La Nina and they reckon is the worst in 1,000 years, or longer. NM’s current 5-year drought doesn’t even compare to that. But someday, one might.
Marc
Raley Field
Watching the person watching the FOX 40 sports casters.
Raley's Park
Raley's Park
Steve and Jan Isaacson
National Anthem
Batter up!
Heads of State make a dash for it (Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Gray Davis).
Trying to get action shots.
Fireworks. (Raley used to drive my dog Sparky crazy back in the day). Sacramento River Cats lost to Tacoma Rainiers, 6-4.
Fireworks
Cats! How apropos!
There are plenty of reasons for Blackhawks and Bruins fans to feel confident about the teams they root for entering tonight's game one of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final.
...Experts are playing it safe and calling for a long series. How could this match-up be decided in less than six games? Both teams are solid from every angle of the puck, and both teams are playing near the peak of their abilities as they enter the Stanley Cup Final. With the firepower concealed in each lineup, this appears to be a case where an unstoppable force will be attempting to nudge an immovable object.
...I like to look at the NHL playoffs, and especially the Stanley Cup Finals, as a season of AMC's Breaking Bad. When you start a season of Bad, you know the situation. Although you expect to be surprised, you feel like you have a general idea of where things are going. In truth, you are stupid, and wrong.
What makes both Breaking Bad and the NHL playoffs so special is their respective drama which unfolds in ways that viewers can never see coming. Again; you may expect to be surprised, but what ends up surprising you the most is your complete inability to have any idea what lies ahead, until it happens and blows you away.
...To those who have not viewed an NHL playoff game, I offer the same advice I offer to people who have not seen Breaking Bad: watch it. If you understand it, you will fall in love, and become completely hooked.
Even though numerous homes and schools were destroyed by the West Texas fertilizer plant explosion that killed 15 people in April, FEMA has refused to send funds to help rebuilding efforts in the small town. The AP reported:Remember, this is NOT a natural disaster, but more akin to a crime, and there are responsible parties who NEED to be held responsible!According to a letter obtained by The Associated Press, FEMA said it reviewed the state’s appeal to help West but decided that the explosion “is not of the severity and magnitude that warrants a major disaster declaration.”
The blast killed 10 first responders and brought national attention to the agricultural community. President Barack Obama traveled to the area to attend a memorial service for the first responders and others who died trying to help.
The FEMA funds would have helped pay for public repairs such as roads, sewer lines, pipes and a school that were destroyed. It does not impact emergency funds FEMA has provided to individual residents. Last month, FEMA estimated the agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration had approved more than $5.6 million in aid and low-interest loans to West residents impacted by the blast.
Map of New Mexico, A.Z. Huggins, U.S. Surveyor General's Office, Santa Fe, N.M. Engraved and printed by C.W. Sherwood, propr. Union Lith. Co., Chicago, Ill., 1876
The Sacramento County Coroner's Office identified the bicyclist killed in an altercation last week as Toussaint Harrison, 34.
Harrison was fatally injured Thursday morning when a driver hit him, then got out and kicked him, according to the Sheriff's Department.
Joseph Paul Leonard, 60, ... has been arrested on suspicion of murder. He was originally arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, until Harrison died Saturday.
Witnesses say Leonard and Harrison got into a fight in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant. Harrison was attempting to flee when Leonard hit him with his pickup at Howe Avenue and Arden Way.
Scrub Jay parent takes a brief break from the labor of opening a peanut.
